Mills celebrates Latin independence

Latin Independence Day gave Mills students a reason to eat, drink and listen to good music. Not many students passed the Tea Shop courtyard last Wednesday evening without, at the very least, enjoying a non-Founders dessert. Many students stayed to partake of not only the food, but the decorations, conversation and smiles.

A huge blue poster, artistically splattered with the names of the countries whose independence were being recognized, framed the two table long spread of dessert options. Alex Flores said, “The set up just came together. Many people were just interested in helping.”

The resident advisors on campus have formed 4-5 person groups they call “pods.” Each pod, like the dorms, has a theme, and every month each theme-based pod hosts an event on campus.

Karla Flores said, “The programs that each pod hosts have to relate to their theme.”

When asked about the desserts that they had available, Flores said they wanted to have desserts from all the countries. Bugarin then chimed in, saying, “We went to bakeries in Fruitvale. . . mostly there are Pan Dulces. . . they seem to be wide spread throughout many of the countries.”

Pan Dulce is a term used for a wide range of sweet bread products which come in a variety of shapes and sizes and often with optional fruit, sugar and chocolate.

One student, J.J. Suarez, was shocked when she arrived at the party and did not see her own country’s name on the poster.

“This is such an amazing thing going on. I was surprised that Colombia was not on there, but then I found out why,” Suarez said.

Colombia and other South American countries were not listed because their days of independence did not fall during this week in September.

“We researched to find out what countries had Independence days during this time of the year. We wanted to make sure we were representing the countries correctly,” said Flores.

Thanks to the Food and Culture pod, students like senior Zoe Tollefson were able to “rest up after a long day of class, spend some time with friends, support Latin Independence Day. It was a nice change to the normal Wednesday evening routine.”

Mills celebrates Latin independence was published on September 25, 2006 in Features